Retirement planning is something that many of us put off until it’s almost too late. We don’t like to think about getting old - and certainly not old enough to retire. We want our life to go on forever just they way it is, if not better. And we talk ourselves into believing that it will. But the years pass more quickly than we expected. We get put off our job for someone younger; the promotion we expected simply doesn’t materialise, or we are offered a redundancy package.

Or before we know it, retirement has crept up on us and we are still unprepared. We may have to sell our house because we cannot afford those last payments on it. But we still have to pay rent for somewhere to live. If we are lucky we only have to downsize, but we may end up living in a caravan. All this could have been avoided if only we had planned for our retirement when we were younger.

Retirement planning need not be complicated. It can be as simple as deciding how much money is needed to live comfortably in retirement - and maybe do a few of the things we have dreamed of over the years. Then finding out much you need to save per fortnight to accomplish that. If you are not good at maths, then get a professional to help you.